A lot transpires over the 48 episodes of television and one feature film that make up the world of “Twin Peaks.” However, at its core, there are two primary characters. First, you have coffee-loving FBI Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan). He has been brought to the titular small Washington town to investigate the death of a local high school student named Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee), who has washed up onshore encased in a plastic tarp. Cooper begins to have dreams of a one-armed man named Mike who claims that an evil entity named Bob is responsible, and he starts his journey through interdimensional spaces like the White and Black Lodges and has several dopplegängers (one of which is possessed by Bob).
The other major character is Laura Palmer herself. Despite being dead in the series’ opening minutes, we come to learn so much about her past — specifically, her history of abuse at the hands of her own father (Ray Wise), who has been possessed by Bob. In the afterlife, she also encounters Agent Cooper in the Black Lodge, where she says they will meet again in 25 years. Laura also has her own evil dopplegänger. In the penultimate episode of the show, Cooper goes back in time and prevents the murder of Laura Palmer, thus erasing the events of the timeline of the show.
Yes, there is Audrey Horne, the Log Lady, Dr. Jacoby, and, of course, Michael Cera’s Wally Brando, along with dozens of other characters and plot lines, but for the ending of the show, Cooper and Laura are the heart of this series.